Snuba in Cozumel

[rileymartin]

Hi,

My girlfriend doesn't dive and said she would first try out Snuba before she tried scuba. I saw there's a few places in Cozumel that have Snuba and I was wondering if anyone had any experience with any of those places. One may be better than the next. They also seem to be at different locations so one might be at a better location with more coral/sea life than the others. Thanks for any info you can provide.

Riley

 

[firstdive2005]

Hi Riley-I took my daughter to the snuba by the Palace on Coz. She did love it but she wished that I had convinced her to try the shore dive instead. I think that the wieght belt not fitting too well, it kept slipping, was a pain for her and that put a bad taste there.
I was really amazed at her breathing and mask clearing. I was the very first time underwater. She likes to snorkel. Does your wife like to snorkel? That seems to help. I was allowed to dive with them. They gave me a tank, I was very grateful to that.
Now I really think that a resort dive or checkout dive would be fun for her. Mau at scubamaucozumel takes brand new divers out alot and that is a very good adventure. The shop is located at Villa Blanca. That way you could throw a tank on also. It's a very nice little dive for a first time diver. Really not current, not usually enough to worry about. If you are wanting a dive buddy later this may be the best way to show her your adventures. I hope this story helps. kev. ps. In a dive like this, he does go over the basics of diving first.moreso than the snuba people.

 

[ggunn]

A couple of years ago someone was running a SNUBA rig right offshore from our hotel. What an obnoxious piece of gear; it sounded like a chainsaw on steroids. I was so glad when they finally took it away; for more than an hour we were shouting to each other around the pool to be heard over the din.

I don't see the point; I don't see that SNUBA is any safer than diving. I am a not a fan of SNUBA or resort courses for untrained divers, but at least with a resort course you are not inflicting noise pollution on those around you who are trying to enjoy the peaceful tranquility of the island.

 

[robint]

we watched a group doing snuba right in front of PapaHogs dive shop one afternoon. What a circle j###. They were all tangled up and some people screaming everytime they saw a fish. Most never got below the surface as they were not listening to the instructions. Others were standing on top of a couple of coral heads, yes standing!

Tell her that snuba is a joke and nothing remotely like scuba diving.

 

[cicopo]

Snuba sounds like a better idea than it is from what I've seen, which is similar to what Robint saw. Too many people in the same area tangling their leashes (air hoses). One has to realize that it's going to work like a pendulum, you can get deepest directly under the raft, but as you move away from the raft you also have to give up depth. As for the style of raft I've seen they had standard scuba tanks rather than a gas powered air supply which was the original style of Snuba air supply I had read about many years ago.

 

[PARADISE HUNTER]

They have SNUBA in front of Jeanies Restaurant. South end of town, across from the MEGA.

I'm not so sure how well it is going to introduce her to the sport of scuba diving. The helmet they have to wear is huge!

Hope it goes well.

PH

 

[rileymartin]

Thanks everyone for the info.

There's a few locations and I am hoping to find the location with the best marine life and in the nicest location.

 

[bcaderunr]

Thanks everyone for the info.

There's a few locations and I am hoping to find the location with the best marine life and in the nicest location.

Quite honestly, you'll probably spend the same $$$ doing a "Discovery Scuba" dive -- which will be far more relaxing, allow her to actually see a real reef and more likely to have her want to take it to the next level.

I watched SNUBA in operation in front of Jeannie's and even if everything goes as planned it's a complete waste of time. The participants walk on the bottom along a pre-defined trail which stops every 20 feet in front of some man-made object. The area is chummed to attract Sargeant Majors and other "Ho-Hum" marine life that you could just as easily observe by snorkle. Don't bother. Save your money for a nice dinner in town.

If it were as great as its promoters would have us believe, there would be an entire forum devoted to it on Scubaboard!

 

[Christi]

Riley,

I concur with the other posters. I really must urge you to abandon the SNUBA idea.
1. SNUBA is no safer (in fact, I think it's more dangerous) than SCUBA
2. SNUBA WILL NOT give her an idea of how SCUBA diving is - SNUBA allows absolutely NO freedom, and none of the exhilaration that SCUBA does - especially with the way these programs are run, which mainly cater to the cruise ship masses. The cruise ships really sell alot of these tours because people don't know any better and they are basically lied to.
3. As stated above, these programs cater to the cruise ship masses, therefore there will be ALOT of people doing it with her. Each person added to the mix makes it that much more dangerous and less enjoyable.
4. It is no less expensive than a Discover Scuba course

My recommendation is to have her do the Discover SCUBA - pay extra to have it done as a private course if applicable. This will give her ONE on ONE attention from a qualified professional and she will be in a real SCUBA environment with all of the equipment, etc. then, if she decides she wants to get certified, she will have experienced the reality of Scuba diving vs. a dangerous gimmick.

AGAIN, SNUBA IS NOTHING like SCUBA - the ONLY similarity is that you are breathing compressed air underwater - other than that, it's a world of difference! If she wants to know what SCUBA is like , then she needs to put on SCUBA equipment and try SCUBA in a pool at the very least.

 

[stortecky]

I would just get certified before you go. I know the dive shops by us will let you try it out for free in the pool when they are doing their classes. I think that if she is comfortable in a pool then go for the certification. She will be much more comfortable when she does hit the reef for the first time.